When I first heard the term “Military Caregiver Leave,” I thought it was leave for members of the military to care for family emergencies, but that isn’t it at all. Military Caregiver Leave is an extension to the Family and Medical Leave Act, commonly known as FMLA. It authorizes family members of qualified veterans and active duty military personnel to take leave from their jobs to care for the military member or veteran who is injured or ill. To simplify this discussion, I will use the term “servicemember” to mean both active duty military, qualified reservists and qualified veterans. The injury or illness must be serious enough for the servicemember to need a family member’s care for weeks or even months.